Baradei: Army prevented civil war

Mohamed el-Baradei, a political activist defended the army's intervention for removing president Mohamed Morsi from power in the past few days. Speaking to the BBC radio, Baradei said "The other option was civil war," he said. "We were between a rock and a hard place." He described the manner of Morsi's removal as "a hiccup". "Unfortunately we had to go through this hiccup, but I am very determined that hopefully we'll get it right," he said. Baradei, 71, is coordinator of the main alliance of liberal and left-wing parties and youth groups, known as the National Salvation Front. It was formed late last year after Morsi granted himself sweeping powers in a constitutional declaration. On Wednesday night, Egypt's Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces General Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi announced president Mohamed Morsi's removal from power and the suspension of the Islamist-drafted constitution. Head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adli Mansour, was sworn-in as interim president on Thursday.